ATP Lorenzo Musetti ATP Shanghái 2026

Musetti crashes out against world number 277 in Shanghai

Fernando Murciego - 9 Oct 2026
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Musetti crashes out against the world number 277 in Shanghai. Source: TennisTV

Lorenzo Musetti has suffered an unexpected setback at the Masters 1000 in Shanghai, one that will certainly be talked about. The Italian tennis player was defeated in the second round by the Chinese player Zhou Yi, 21 years old and ranked 277 in the world, who took advantage of the tournament's wildcard to achieve the biggest victory of his career (7-6, 3-6, 7-6).

The defeat is particularly painful for Musetti due to the manner in which it occurred. The Italian did not concede a single break of serve throughout the match, yet he ended up packing his bags against a rival who found in the support of the crowd and his own bravery his best allies. One of those days when statistics don't tell the whole story.

The first set had already shown signs that Zhou Yi was not willing to play the role of a mere guest. The Chinese player resisted against a rival with much more experience on big stages and took the opening set after needing a highly tense tiebreak. Musetti reacted in the second set, raised his level, and managed to equalize the match with a 6-3 that seemed to put the game back on the expected course. However, the third set turned into a battle of nerves once again. Musetti had three consecutive opportunities to achieve a break that could have changed the course of the match but failed to capitalize on them.

With both players holding their serves, the match led to another tiebreak. It was then that Zhou Yi finished writing the most important page of his career. Fueled by an enthusiastic crowd, the Chinese player strung together the necessary points to go up 6-0 and closed the tiebreak 7-1. The crowd erupted as Musetti faced an elimination that was hard to explain from the scoreline.

Zhou, born in 2005 and coached by the Italian Davide Sanguinetti, thus reaches the third round in Shanghai and confirms that his wildcard has had an extraordinary outcome. For Musetti, the adventure ends too soon. He did not lose serve, but also could not find a way to escape one of the major surprises of the tournament.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Musetti se estrella ante el número 277 del mundo en Shanghái